Thursday, June 03, 2004

International Affairs: Russia is officially lost

The ex-KGB officer-come-president has successfully turned Russia back toward authoritarianism.

One of Russia's most outspoken television broadcasters has been fired after he aired a program against the wishes of the government and then objected angrily when the broadcast was abruptly halted.

The firing of the broadcaster, Leonid Parfyonov, announced Tuesday night, appears to be the latest step by President Vladimir V. Putin in tightening control over the news media as well as other areas of public life.[NYT]

President Bush looked into Putin’s soul and saw a friend. I looked at Putin’s resume and saw a future dictator.